Zootopia: Seafarer's Tales--The Chosen Six
by Eragon05
Summary: The year 1800, and pirates are raiding cargo ships more than ever. In an effort to stop a merciless fox captain from raiding yet another ship, the Commodore of the Royal Navy is bringing a new lieutenant and his crew to protect the precious cargo on board. But when this lieutenant and fox meet, a chain of events leads to them discovering some of the greatest secrets of their world.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello, readers! So I have been having serious writer's block on _Fall_ and got this idea in the back of my head, so I decided to put it on paper! This will not replace _Fall_ and I have full intentions of that story being my main priority. This is just a side project to keep the creative juices flowing, and will be a ton of fun. Thank you to everyone giving this story a chance! Be you one of my followers or a new reader, I greatly appreciate the encouragement! Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy my little prologue to this story!**

 **-Eragon**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia, just my story(s) and OC's.**

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 **ZOOTOPIA: SEAFARER'S TALES-THE CHOSEN SIX**

 **PROLOGUE**

 _How did this world come to be? Some extraordinary universal event? A higher power? The sad truth is that there is no way of being certain what is true until after death. What remains is all that will be known. And what remains, is quite spectacular. Whatever began this world, left not just a barren rock, but left life. Life, as well as the ability for sentience. Knowledge, common sense, emotion, personality. These all were able to be developed because this world came to be. As the first animals gained this sentience, they formed tribes, and while primitive and warlike, each began their own ways of life. Predator still hunted prey, but the methods of both hunting prey and avoiding predators became more and more intelligent. This coevolution continued for hundreds, possibly even thousands of years. A constant battle for survival between tribes._

 _Tribes began to form alliances with others, creating towns and trade networks in order to maintain order within the unstable borders between tribes. The alliances fought each other, escalating the warfare and death counts. Finally, the chief of the rabbit tribe and the chief of the fox tribe, after witnessing a war that was particularly devastating to their numbers, decided to make peace between their tribes, and live in coexistence, working together to create better lives for both their tribes. The foxes taught the rabbits better methods for defending themselves against predators. The rabbits taught the foxes how to grow crops for self-sustainability._

 _The lion tribe hated this, the alliance between predators and prey, so they decided to wipe out the both of the other tribes to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. When the lions attacked, the fox and rabbit tribes fled far into the mountains, but they were cornered. No where left to go, they made a final stand...and left the mountains victorious. How is this possible? Well, when the world came to be, whatever created it did not just leave the ability for life._

 _Six stones, bearing symbols, were left on the land where life would first occur. The symbols were that of undeath, courage, strength, power, manipulation, and faith. The stones would be made into artifacts by the first chieftains of the animal tribes. It just so happened, that the rabbit chieftain carried a sword imbedded with the stone of courage, and the fox chieftain wore an amulet carrying the stone of undeath. With the power of these Artifacts, the chieftains led their tribes to battle and pushed the lions back. After these events occurred, other tribes also began to make peace, and as technology developed, cities were formed. Then nations, led by king and queens who carried these ancient Artifacts. The year 1500 approached, and nations had been warring centuries, so the six kings and queens met and in order to restore peace between nations all agreed to cast their Artifacts into the sea._

 _This was at the recommendation 0f the most respected seer of the land, who told them a chilling prophecy. If the artifacts stayed in animal possession, six "Chosen" of the Artifacts would come into possession, and cause chaos in the world. One of the Chosen would try to rise above the rest, and the only way to defeat this animal would be for the other five Chosen to join all the nations together. The kings and queens, not wanting to take any chances of the destruction of their world, quickly did their best to remove the Artifacts from all animal possession. For three centuries, it worked, and wars between nations dimmed to a thick tension that no leader was willing to cut. Yet the Artifacts were not truly gone, they had merely traveled the sea, finding their ways to different parts of the world. Some returned back to the mainland, others reached a strange land called Animalia, a land divided into tens of colonies of the six nations._

 _The Artifacts, displaying a bit of sentience of their own, grew restless. The Chosen, be they kings or peasants, loyal to the thrones or pirates, good or evil; were called to their artifacts. The year is now 1800, the Royal Navy of Britantler is finally seeing the threat of pirates on their cargo ships traveling to colonies. The pirates just a bit more of a challenge for the goods they want to steal. A chance encounter of multiple Chosen on one vessel will change the world as they know it for years to come. This is where this old seafarer's tale begins._


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Heyo, everyone! I am back once again with a brand new chapter for y'all. I am looking for cover art for this story (and for _Fall_ ) if any of you are interested. Thank you for the patience since I have just gone through the busiest time of the year for me. October got quite crazy and November only gets a little bit better. Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy the chapter! **

**-Eragon**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Zootopia, just let me write my story in peace, Disney. Okay? Okay.**

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 **ZOOTOPIA: SEAFARER'S TALES-THE CHOSEN SIX**

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **LOCATION: THE** _MINOTAUR_ **, VESSEL OFF THE WESTERN COAST OF BRITANTLER**

 **DATE: JULY 12th, 1800**

Life on a ship is an experience that few enjoy and choose over life on land. The salty breeze, the splash of waves breaking against the hull, the rocking of the ship, the sound of gulls when close to shore, the great expanse of nothing but blue. It seems like paradise, but the sea also shows a rage unlike that of the land. Storms, with waves that tower above buildings and gusts that threaten to tear the fur off an animal's body and rain that hits like needles. There is also the heat and exhaustion as well as the freezing cold and snow that varies with each passing month out on the ocean. How could any animal be drawn to this? For some, it is the only life they have ever known and experienced since a young age. For others, they just have this calling, a need to be on a vessel at sea.

Lieutenant Judith Hopps is one of the animals who has this calling. Ever since she was young, all she wanted to do was be out on the ocean. It didn't matter if it was swimming or sailing, in charge of the boat or a passenger, she just wanted to be near the water. This was worrisome for her parents at first, but as she became more and more comfortable at sea, they realized it was what she was meant to do. Her father was one of the four lords of Britantler, and all of these lords were loyal to King Lionheart. The Hopps family controlled the southern section of the island, an area with fertile soil and green pastures for farming. Due to her parents' positions, she was able to gain entry into the Royal Navy when she was twenty-two at the rank of Lieutenant, per the King and much to the anger of Commodore Bogo, whom she was assigned to.

The commodore was quite a gruff individual, showing little to no emotion other than anger, and very methodical and formal in everything he did. None could say he was not a fabulous leader, however, as he captained multiple ships both efficiently and successfully. In just the year before Hopps was assigned to him, he and the captains assigned under him had captured or destroyed approximately fifty pirate vessels and killed countless of the scoundrel. When he had been informed that this _bunny_ would be assigned as a lieutenant under his command, the desk the message was sitting upon was nearly crushed under the slam of his hooves. After taking a deep breath and gathering his thoughts, he came up with an ingenious scheme. He would make this bunny quit.

And so he assigned her to the smallest of the ten ships under his command, _Medina_. It was a small ten-gun vessel, captained by an old tiger named James Moore. Captain Moore gave his newest lieutenant all of the jobs he was too lazy to do; such as waking up the men, writing and sending letters to other captains and the commodore, and distributing pay. She was treated horribly by the crew, being both the smallest and newest addition to the ship. Through all this, she did see her fair share of battles with pirates. Due to its smaller size, _Medina_ could keep up with just about any ship and was tasked his hampering and slowing down pirate ships until the larger vessels arrived to finish the job. Hopps quickly learned how to help load and fire a cannon, and though her size made it difficult to load a cannon, she was a fantastic shot with a cannon. Many masts fell to the cannon she was firing.

Her success did not go unnoticed. Frankly, Bogo was impressed. He decided to assign her to the only vessel in the fleet as large as his own, _Fortitude_. He appointed her lieutenant to Captain McHorn, a rhino who was his second-in-command of the fleet. The crew of the ship were quite upset about her placement at first, until she boarded the next pirate ship they captured and took down four pirates on her own, including the captain of the pirate ship. With her continued success, Bogo wanted to begin teaching her the ropes of captaining a ship. Some of his captains were getting to an old age, and it was only a matter of time until he would need to begin appointing new captains anyway, so why not start with the most promising animal in the fleet?

This was why, while his fleet was docked in Liondon restocking on supplies, he had called Lieutenant Hopps to his ship, the _Minotaur_ , for a conference. The commodore waited patiently in his cabin, looking over the maps the navigators of Britantler had drawn for the Royal Navy. He had marked off areas that were relatively safe for travel and areas that tended to be attacked and raided the most, as well as cities in the colonies he knew to be safe to dock in. Suddenly, there was a knock at the large door. His voice traveled across the room quickly, "Enter."

He heard a shuffle from outside the door before the door shook, but did not open. Realizing that the visitor was most likely the Hopps, who would be unable to get the door open since it was meant for animals his size, he walked over to the entrance to his cabin. The thundering hoofsteps echoed around the room and just outside of it. He opened the door and, seeing it was indeed Hopps, gestured for her to come into the cabin. With an embarrassed expression, the rabbit shuffled into the room and stood at attention facing Bogo's desk. Sitting in the oak chair behind the desk, Bogo spoke up first, "Lieutenant Hopps, you know I don't care about all that saluting rubbish. Put your paw down."

"Yes, Commodore!", the rabbit replied a bit overly enthusiastically. Once her paws were both at her sides, Bogo continued, "Lieutenant, you have done absolutely great work for me in the past twelve months. With major parts in the capture of eight pirate vessels and assisting captains in diplomacy with merchants and townsfolk alike, it's hard to miss the work you put into what you do-"

"Thank you, Commodore!"

"...So I have decided that you deserve another opportunity. I would like to appoint you as my lieutenant and begin training you for becoming a captain of your own ship one day. Do you accept this responsibility?"

The buffalo watched with curiosity as joy danced across the rabbit's features and she lost her composure, "Yes, Commodore! Thank you, thank you, thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

"Don't mention it, Lieutenant. Now, focus again. That was not the only reason I needed to meet with you."

After the bunny's excited expression faded back to a no-nonsense one, Bogo began speaking again, "Now, there is a cargo ship traveling to the colonies that is carrying extremely valuable and important items on board. These are items that could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, so I and the crew of the _Minotaur_ will be protecting the cargo ship. Since you are now a member of the crew, that means you will be helping protect this ship as well. This cargo ship is the fastest in the Britantlan Empire, so hopefully the ship will have no issues on its trip. And due to this, I refuse to bring the fleet to protect the ship. The fleet will slow the cargo ship down and bring attention to it since a Navy escort screams valuables. So we and the crew will be on board the ship as it travels to the colonies. I have heard your hearing is without match in the Navy, so I want you in the crow's nest and informing myself of any approaching ships to the cargo ship. We leave tonight at dusk. Do you understand your job?"

"Yes, Commodore! I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't, Lieutenant."

Just as Hopps was about to turn and leave the cabin, she glanced at the map and had a question for her superior, "Commodore, where are we going in the colonies and what route are we taking?"

"Glad you asked, Lieutenant. We will be traveling to the Britlantan colony of Mane, and taking this route here..."

He pointed out a route that was a bit of a zig-zag, but relatively pointed straight to Mane, the southernmost part of North Animalia controlled by Britantler. At first, the route seemed perfect, until Hopps noticed one big problem, "Uh, Commodore, I understand that the route is relatively pirate free...except you're forgetting one big problem."

"And what is that, Lieutenant?"

She merely pointed at a symbol that was nearly on top of the route leading to Mane from Britantler in the Caribbearian Sea. A giant fox skull surrounded by flames. The buffalo became enraged, "Lieutenant, I will not let one _mangy_ fox pirate affect the plan. So as much as I respect the concern, it is unnecessary. You may leave to prepare for the trip now."

Hopps bowed to Bogo, "Yes, Commodore. I apologize, Commodore."

With that, the rabbit turned and was gone. Bogo still stared at the map, and even more at the symbol that struck fear into many of his animal's hearts. He slowly growled under his breath, "I will not let him win again."

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 **LOCATION:** _WILDFIRE_ **, VESSEL LOCATED SOMEWHERE IN CARIBBEARIAN SEA**

 **DATE: JULY 12th, 1800**

It was quite the stormy night, but whether through good luck or good fortune, the ship was being carried directly where its captain wanted it to go with the winds of the storm. The ship rose and fell with the huge waves, but never once did the crew feel their safety was threatened. They knew the ship and, more importantly, they knew their captain. The ship was one of, if not the, most well-crafted vessels on the ocean. It was a bit smaller than most of the larger Royal Navy ships, but was sleek and faster than any ship any animal had ever seen. Sporting 54 cannons, it could also keep its own in a fight if needed, but that rarely happened due to the ship's speed and the ability of the crew to board opposing ship's and deal with fights that way. The hull was black, with bright orange sails that showed everyone that this was no vessel to be trifled with.

This ship was _Wildfire_ , a pirate vessel with the orange sails depicting the crew's symbol: a grinning fox skull. For five years, _Wildfire_ had terrorized the seas around both the mainland and the Animalian colonies. Some sailors claim it is merely luck that the _Wildfire_ has never been sunk. Some say that it has been sunk and duplicates were crafted to create the illusion of the ship never being sunk. And still others say the ship is a ghost ship that could never be sunk by even a fleet of the greatest ships in any navy. Only the crew of the ship and the rare few who have survived encounters with the _Wildfire_ know the truth. The captain is why this pirate ship has never been sunk. His cunning, craftiness, and intelligence are what keeps the _Wildfire_ afloat.

The captain, a small and seemingly harmless mammal, a red fox, that has outsmarted every ship he has gone after. Captain Wilde was his name, hence the pun for his ship's name. Wilde had a tendency for using and telling obnoxious jokes and puns, purely for his own enjoyment. And while at many times he annoyed his crew, he had their loyalty to the bitter end, because his crew knew he always had a plan and always looked out for his crew above all else. Through every ship they pirated, every raid, every battle, he had proven this to them over and over again. And they hadn't always come away victorious, or with every crewmember still standing, but they had always survived. Wilde cared about his crew and took great care in keeping morals up, because there can be no captain if there is no crew to be captained.

He also showed this in battle, as he always was the at the front of the charge when boarding a vessel. He was the bravest pirate his crew had ever met, never backing down from a fight, even when seemingly outmatched. Never did his crew doubt him, though, as they had witnessed him single-pawedly taken down rhinos and elephants. The crew never ceased to remember when their captain had taken on six Royal Navy marines in sword combat and dispatched all of them with ease, or the battle where he saved the same lynx that had questioned his leadership hours earlier. Every crewmember would fight by the fox's side, knowing he would have their backs and fight until either they won or until every one of his animals had already escaped to the _Wildfire_.

None of the crew knew where Captain Wilde came from, only that one day he had shown up in whatever tavern they were occupying themselves in and asked for animals who wanted to live a life of adventure and riches at sea. He had started with a small crew, and this crew was quite wary of a fox captain. After a few successes on small merchant ships, a few of the crew got the brilliant idea of a mutiny on the captain and taking the ship and valuables for themselves. Unfortunately for them, Wilde somehow saw all of it coming and captured each one of the mutinous crewmembers one by one as they chased him around the ship. After making the three leaders of the mutiny walk the plank, he spared the remaining members, offering them the choice of walking the plank or pledging loyalty to him as their captain. The choice was quite an easy one to make.

With a loyal crew and growing renown as a pirate, Captain Wilde picked larger and more dangerous targets to pirate, and won most of the battles. He had only lost when navy ships had come to the aide of the merchant ship they were pirating, and even then the _Wildfire_ and its crew always escaped. The crew of the ship grew as success became more and more common and well-known among the not-so-friendly groups of society. With a crew growing in both size and experience, Wilde began going after Britantlan cargo vessels. They had been challenging at first, due to normally having an escort of some sort, but with time, they had become common targets for the fox captain and his crew.

His crew didn't know how, but he seemed to always know exactly where a cargo ship would be sailing on certain days. Rumors went around that Wilde had some sort of magic powers that gave him the ability to know this. The truth was that Wilde had connections on the mainland that sent him letters that stated exactly what routes cargo ships would be traveling and what kinds of escorts these cargo ships would have. He had just received such a letter this morning, with a target too good to be true. A Britantlan cargo ship was traveling right through waters that every navigator knew was basically owned by the fox and his crew, with no escorting navy ships. While he nearly drooled at how open of a target this was, he was also fairly cautious about the news.

It made no sense that a cargo ship would have nothing protecting it other than the cargo ship's guards. Any captain, even a dumb one, would ask for escorts knowing of the dangers of not having an escort. He would have to scout the area once they were close to the cargo ship, darting in and out and around to see what exactly he and his crew were dealing with. As the storm tossed the ship back and forth, Wilde kept it pointed exactly where he wanted. His crew made sure to keep the everything on deck secured and the sails perfectly set to both catch the most wind possible and not be torn at the same time. They were heading for Tusk Island, the island that was farthest out in the Caribbearian from Animalia and the first island that the cargo ship would have to pass when taking their route.

While the journey was rough, Wilde knew it would be swift and painless, and in the end, they would reach the island with ease. Then, they could wait out for a few weeks until the cargo ship would actually arrive. And as a bonus, his crew loved Tusk Island. It was a dangerous and lawless place, but that was perfect for his band of pirates. They could drink themselves away for the next month with the gold they had gathered on their last raid of a colony village and enjoy themselves. Maybe he could finally relax for the first time in months at sea. As the rain and gusts pelted his face, he gazed down at his crew and his ship. He had created quite the life for himself after a tough beginning. The journey of life had come with some high waves, but he had rolled with whatever life had thrown at him and kept going, and now look at him; he was a renowned and feared pirate captain with all he could ever want.

As if the world knew his thoughts, the wind began slowing and the pouring rain became a mist. The moon's light peaked through the clouds, showing Wilde his destination. Tusk Island looked menacing. With two giant rock formations curving up and out from the base of the island, giving it its name, as well as nearly no grass visible on the ground of the island, the sight would chill the blood of most animals. But for pirates, mercenaries, and other less than savory occupations, this was one of the greatest safe havens ever built. The animals who lived their year-round would fish and ship in crops in order to provide food, collect the abundance of rainwater for drinking, special order in alcohol, and make sure their were places to stay and sleep. It was the closest animals of the pirate-type could come to a vacation in between different illegal activities.

Directing the ship into the docks and expertly maneuvering it to be easily moored, Wilde smiled at his crew before shouting out to them, "Go on, you fools, and enjoy yourselves!"

His crew gave a loud cheer as the four hundred or so animals poured off the ship and into the taverns and eateries of the island town center. Wilde was the last to leave the ship, passing a sizeable pouch of gold to an ox seated on a stack of crates as he strolled down the docks, securing a guard for his ship and an informant if any characters unsavory to his crew were to dock throughout the duration of the next three or four weeks. While he and his crew were the most feared pirates on the sea, they had still made enemies here and there, and he wanted to know if they would have to deal with any of them. Slowly and casually making his way off the docks and into the town, he admired the pirate haven.

The "town" was fairly simple, with there just being four streets in the shape of a box. The eastern street was the residences of the townspeople who lived at Tusk Island year-round. The northern street and western street were the recreational streets. The two roads were crowded with taverns, brothels, inns, and stores selling all sorts of goods. The southern street was the road along the docks, used mainly as guard stations and lookouts as well as as a way to monitor anything and anyone going in or out of the town. Wilde had never been one for the taverns and brothels and "merrymaking" as his crew called it. Rather, he would make his way up to the lookout towers and admire the rolling sea and the stars of the night.

Torches and oil lanterns lit his way down the southern street. Thankfully, the mist from the aftermath of the storm was all that remained and made the stroll quite pleasant. He continually scanned the surroundings around him, smirk plastered on his muzzle. Even if it was a safe haven for pirates, that didn't mean crimes weren't committed. Actually, it was the exact opposite, with pickpocketing and muggings happening constantly, especially at night around the taverns. Wilde noticed that there were a few animals huddled between two buildings around a small fire, trying to keep warm. Cautiously at first, he inched a bit closer, until he realized that the animals were a male grey wolf pup, a female red fox kit, and a male black leopard kitten. None of them could have been over twelve-years-old.

Wilde moved a bit more briskly towards them and they looked at him in fear, cowering behind the fire. He slowly crouched down and genuinely smiled at each of them, "Hello, you three. I'm Captain Wilde. What are your names?"

The three glanced back and forth at each other in fear before the wolf pup spoke up first, "My-my name is George. The fox is Robyn and the leopard is Abel."

"Well it is certainly a pleasure to meet all of you-"

The leopard was the next to use his voice, "You aren't going to hurt us, are you?"

The pirate fox gave the kitten a sad smile, "Of course not. You three are safe now. I'm going to make sure you get taken care of. How's that sound to you three?"

While the wolf and leopard beamed at each other, the fox kit just looked suspicious, "Why do you want to help us? You don't even know us."

"That is true, and it is good that you are suspicious. Keep that with you. It'll help you out a lot when you're older. As for your question, I want to help because when I was your age, I was living just like you three now. At least, I was until a very kind polar bear, named Kevin, brought me to his captain's home, and now here I am. So here's what I'm going to do. I have a good friend who is too old to sail, so she lives here on the island. You're going to live with her until you're old enough to be on a pirate ship, then you'll come help me out at sea. How's that sound for a deal to all of you?"

The fox captain held out his paw and, to his surprise, Robyn was the first to shake it, then George and Abel. "Well then, let's go introduce you to Honey."

And Wilde set off down the street at a slow walk, the three children scurrying after him.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Heyo, everyone. I am back! So I know that I said this was only going to be a once in a while story around _Fall_ , but I'm really enjoying writing this, so I'll write this until I get writer's block and then go back to my other story for a while until I get writer's block there and then I'll come back and write more of this. Sound fair? If not...welp, I can't help you. I am looking for cover art for both this story and _Fall_ , but have also begun my own little art piece for this story. Whether or not I'll ever finish it or if it will be any good, I don't know, but that is a little project I've been working on during my down time at school. Anyways, with all that over with, leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy!**

 **-Eragon**

 **Disclaimer: Disney owns Zootopia and its characters, I own my story(s) and OCs and that is all.**

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 **ZOOTOPIA: SEAFARER'S TALES-THE CHOSEN SIX**

 **CHAPTER 2**

 **LOCATION: TUSK ISLAND**

 **DATE: JULY 12th, 1800**

"So what is Honey like, Captain Wilde?", the wolf pup, named George, asked innocently, skipping along on the right side of the calm fox.

The pirate captain took a moment to think before responding. How could he possibly explain the odd animal that was Honey? "Well, to start, she's a honey badger who-"

A bark of laughter came from Wilde's left. He looked over to see Robyn, the fox kit, giving a smirk almost too similar to his own. "A honey badger named Honey? That has to be a joke."

Smirking himself, the older fox snipped back at the kit, "This coming from the fox who happens to have the same name as an old fox folk hero?"

Robyn's smirk morphed to a scowl as she crossed her arms and looked away from Wilde. Seeing he had his victory, he continued talking about Honey, "Anyways, Honey is only ten or so years older than me. She-"

Now the leopard kitten, Abel, who was even farther to his right than George, interrupted him, "Wait, you said Honey was so old she couldn't be a pirate anymore and that's why she lives here. She can't be that old if she's only ten years older than you."

While he understood their curiosity, Wilde was quickly losing patience with the disruptions, "You're right, she could still be a pirate. That's why I give her enough gold and supplies to make sure she stays here and out of danger. Can I finish now?"

Staring at his footpaws, Abel responded quietly, "Yes, Captain Wilde."

"Thank you. Now where was I?" He paused for a moment, holding his paw to his chin in thought. Remembering what he had been saying, he snapped his digits before speaking once again, "Ah, I remember now! Honey is one of the sweetest and kindest animals you will ever meet. She was my caretaker, teacher, and guardian when I first stepped foot on a pirate ship. Don't think that she is a pushover, though. That badger will smack a spoon across your rump so fast you won't know what hit you until it's too late. She'll take great care of you, and teach you how to survive on your own one day. You three couldn't have a better animal as your guardian."

Abel, still staring at his footpaws mumbled in a voice that Wilde never would have heard had he not had superb hearing, "What about you? Won't you ever be around?"

The fox captain stopped dead in his tracks, ears perking up and tail shooting out. The three children continued right along for a couple steps until they realized their guide was behind them. Looking back at the captain, they could see a heavy dose of shock in his facial expression as well as a hint of...was that fear? As suddenly as Wilde had froze, he was back to normal self. Donning not his normal smirk, but a tender smile, he closed the gap between himself and the children and took a knee, placing his right paw on Abel and left paw on Robyn with George directly in the middle. A gleam was in his emerald eyes as a warm and affectionate voice flowed out of his muzzle, "I won't be around for you three very often. Because of what I do, I will be out at sea and traveling for months at a time. But I promise I will never forget about you three, and will do my damndest to always come back alive for all of you. And one day, you might be able to be out at sea with me, and won't that be quite the adventure? Now I want you all to look at me. I am a pirate; I'm not a hero or a father figure or even a decent role-model. When I am with you, though, I will always be there for you, no matter what. If you need anything, tell me, and I will try my best to help."

Seeing all three of the children had started to shed tears, he wrapped them into a huge group hug. Never would he be able to explain what made him care so much about these three random orphans, all he knew is that he had an incredible urge to help them and keep them safe. It would be a memory that would stick with him for as long as he lived and a story he would tell to any who would listen. Hearing the sobs turn to just sniffles, Wilde leaned back, still sporting that tender smile, "Now that that's over, let's not think about anything sad anymore. You have to meet Honey still and I'll be around for a few weeks before heading out to sea again, so we'll have some time together. That sound good to all of you?"

The children, still sniffling, nodded their heads, and the group resumed to surprisingly pleasant walk to the east side of town. A couple seconds into the continuation of the walk, Robyn reached up and grabbed Wilde's paw. While surprised, the older fox didn't pull his paw away, knowing that the young kit needed the small comfort. And he couldn't lie, he enjoyed holding the little one's paw and seeing the smile it put on her muzzle. With another ten minutes or so of walking, Wilde led the small group up to the largest house on the road. Wilde had seen it countless times before, but to the children it was a like walking up to the front of a mansion.

The home was two stories tall and built for medium to small sized animals, wooden, and painted white with black accents and a plain black roof. It was fairly narrow, with only two windows with wooden shutters on either side of the centered door and only three windows, also with wooden shutters, stretching across the second story. Seemingly quite basic, but compared to the other houses on the street, it was absolutely marvelous. Wilde grinned at the children's awestruck expressions as he walked up and knocked on the door. There was some shuffling and muttering that got a bit louder as the animal inside approached the door. With little warning, the door swung out and open to reveal a honey badger in about her forties. She had much grey hair for her age, but still had a spark of fire in her eyes.

Honey was scowling when she first opened the door, but as soon as she saw the grinning red fox, the scowl vanished and was replaced with a grin of her own. She lunged forward and gave Wilde a bone-crushing hug before holding him back by his shoulders to scan him up and down. "Well, well, well, where have you been, captain? It's been almost eight months!"

"You know how it is, Honey. Sometimes, you just get on a good streak and end up on the boat for a while."

As she examined him, her eyes were drawn to a small scar on the underside of his chin. It ran horizontally just above his neck, almost as if someone had tried to slit his throat. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. So how'd you get a new scar under your chin", she smiled slyly at him, "Did you cause another vixen to get all upset and do that to you?"

Wilde rolled his eyes, "You and I both know I don't have time for anything like that while I'm out at sea. I got that from a little tussle with a guard who jumped me from behind while we were searching a ship. Needless to say, he's no worry to anyone anymore."

"Good. I'm glad you're safe. Now are you just going to stand out there or come in, Ni-"

Her sentence was interrupted as the fox cleared his throat and gestured with his chin to behind him. All through the conversation, Honey had failed to notice the three children eyeing her with various degrees of curiosity, anticipation, and suspicion. Actually, it was more like each one of the kits embodied one of the three. The leopard kitten definitely was the curious one of the bunch. Not that she was surprised as an old saying her parents used to tell her made its way into her mind. 'Remember, Honey, curiosity killed the cat.' The wolf pup seemed to be waiting for something. And the fox kit watched her every move with extreme caution as if she was a vicious criminal. The badger glared at Wilde, "What have you brought me today, _captain_?"

A nervous chuckle escaped the older fox. Throwing her paws up in exasperation, Honey trudged back in to the home and dropped into her lounging chair. Wilde beckoned the three children inside and closed the door behind them. After pointing for them to sit on the sofa, he began speaking to the badger who had her face dropped into her paws. "Okay, so I know what this seems like, but I can explain."

"Please tell me these aren't some poor mammals children that you've kitnapped. Or, God forbid, some children who's parents you killed."

"No, Honey! Not even close! I found these poor kits stranded and maybe, kinda, sorta, said I and the sweetest, kindest, best honey badger I've ever met would take care of them..."

Honey's head shot up, distress quickly turning to anger, "You WHAT?!"

Wilde held his paws up innocently, "Listen, I get it, it's a lot to take in and a lot of work, but I saw them and I something in me was drawn to them. I couldn't just leave them all alone, I had to help. And I've only known them a short while", he looked at the three kits and smiled, "But I care very deeply about them. They show me there's more to this life than just being a pirate. I know I can't take care of them on my own, not yet at least. Not until I have enough money for my plan, Honey, but I thought that if you could help me take care of them when I am on my trips until then, then I can take them with me and away from this life so that-"

"So they can what, Nick?! Go join that rebellion of yours on the mainland! What kind of life will that be for them? To grow up in a pirate town only to move to a rebel camp? That's no way for a child to be raised."

Wilde glowered at the badger, "Let me finish, Honey. I _won't_ force them into that life. That will be their choice when they grow up. And I figured that would be a better fate than what they have now. Look at them, Honey. What will this world turn them into if we leave them on the streets to be molded by this town for the rest of their lives. They'll end up dead or among the worst of animals. I can't let that happen. I won't."

Honey did look at the kits. They were trying to act brave, but she could see the obvious fear in their eyes. They needed help, and someone to love them. And she had never seen Nick so set on something other than his plan. This meant so much to him; she couldn't just push him away. She let out a large sigh, "Fine, I can see I can't change your mind and I hate to admit it, but you're right. They can stay in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs until you gather your funds. But we are splitting the costs to take care of them, you hear me, Nicky?"

Triumphant grins plastered all over Wilde and the kits' faces. The older fox gathered the three in a massive hug as he spoke to Honey, tears threatening to drip down his muzzle, "You've got it, Honey. I'll do whatever I need to help take care of them, I promise. Thank you so much."

"Yeah, yeah, no problem", the honey badger stated over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen, realizing she would need to prepare dinner for the four guests...no, not guests, the four new members of her home. Luckily, she had stores of food for Wilde's occasional random visits. She always had her wood stove burning, but she threw a couple more logs over it to get the heat up a bit before pulling a large stew pot from the cupboards, filled it with well water she had brought in earlier that day, and put on the stove to get the water to boil. She then began to chop up bits of fish from that days market and put those on the side before going into her spice cabinet and picking out what she knew to be Nick's favorites, rosemary and thyme, as well as the basic salts for flavor. The water began to boil and she put the hefty pile of chopped fish into the water, letting the flavor of the fish soak in before adding the spices and salts and stirring the whole delectable broth to evenly mix the each and every flavor.

While the badger worked away at dinner, Wilde showed the kits to their new room. It was fairly simple, with two beds sized for medium-sized animals in the room, two dressers with mirrors attached to each, a large desk, two windows facing the street and one facing the house to the left, and plenty of floor space. He let the children explore and jump on the bed for a time, then the incredible smell of fish stew consumed his senses. By the looks on the kits faces, he could tell the scent had done the same to them. At once, they slowly were drawn to the source of the delicious smell like moths to flame. They reached the first floor and saw the dining table had an orange tablecloth over it with the pot of stew at the center of the table. A grinning Honey was just behind the large stew pot, holding back laughter at the nearly drooling four animals transfixed on her cooking.

The four scattered to find seats at the oblong oval table for six, trying their best to remain patient for the stew to be served. Nick had gone to the head of the table, with Robyn and Axel on his right side and George directly across from him. Honey reached over and grabbed Nick's left paw before doing the same with George's right. The hungry group followed suit, all linking hands together and bowing their heads as Honey spoke. "Hello, old friend. You certainly never get tired of throwing surprises at us, but we can't thank you enough for it. You've brought Nicky back to this home safe and sound and given us the blessing of three new additions to our little family. Thank you for George, Robyn, and Axel. You have kept us safe and in good health. Protect Nick on his journeys and help us to raise these three kits to be animals who fight for what they believe in and do what they love, no matter the judgement of others. Thank you."

All five animals simultaneously looked up, smiling warmly at one another. Without another word, Honey began pouring bowls of stew for her misfit family. She grinned in amusement at the tentative first sips of the children followed by them scarfing down their entire bowls in mere moments. She happily poured each one a second before turning and laughing outright. Wilde had chosen to forgo the spoon and just put the bowl up to his muzzle to pour into his mouth. He then tried to dip his bowl into the pot to get a third serving, for which he received a stinging smack on his paw from Honey's ladle. The fox yelped and dropped his bowl into the pot of stew. He stared sadly at the lost bowl while holding his paw close to his chest. "Why would you do that, Honey? What have you done?"

"What have _I_ done?! You're the one trying to get more stew without a spoon! And I am not letting you get your filthy paws in my perfect stew."

Wilde looked away after that and continued to mutter while Honey ate her stew and gave each of the kits a third bowl. She finally gave in and got a new bowl and poured some stew for the sulking fox and slid the bowl over to him. At that, he brightened back up and ate his fill. With the stew gone and everyone full, the kits settled in on the couch to wait for Wilde while he helped Honey clean up the bowls and so she could focus on the large stew pot. They quickly ran out of water since most of it had been used for the stew itself and the fox was sent to go get more water from one of the community wells across the street.

He strolled out the door, two buckets in paw, and across the street and over to the well. The job went quickly and he was halfway across the street when he saw a large animal out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see the large ox from the docks standing about ten yards away, but something was off about him. His arms hung seemingly limp at his sides and he was hunched, not quite standing up straight. He placed the two buckets down and cautiously took a few steps towards the large animal. He called out to the ox, "Hello there! Can I help you, friend?"

A maniacal laugh answered followed by a voice that didn't come from the ox. "I mussst sssay, clever move with the lookout. Too bad thisss brute was all mussscle and no brainsss. He wasssn't even hard to kill."

The ox fell forward and hit the ground with a loud thump, revealing one of the few animals that invoked some fear into the fox captain. Standing before him was a komodo dragon, and a large one at that. The newcomer had many scars on his face and was wearing sailing gear, as if his ship had just arrived at the docks. The reptile had two cutlasses, one sheathed on each side of his waste, as well as a flintlock that was drawn and pointed at the Wilde's head. The canine had to think quick to get out of this, or at least stall. "So Drago, how have you been lately?"

The komodo's tongue flicked out of the grinning lizard's mouth before he responded, "Well, I managed to sssurvive you sssinking my ssship, killing my animalsss, and ssstealing my cargo. I now have a new crew and a new ssship after three yearsss of work and have the fox I hate most ssstanding in front of me with my gun pointed at hisss head. Ssso you could sssay my luck changed for the better."

He had his plan, he just needed to draw the reptile in close, "I can tell your hissss hasn't changed for the better, though."

There was a flash of anger in Drago's eyes, now he had him. "Why you mangy pelt, I'll sssplit that ssstupid muzzle of yoursss in half!"

With Drago taking a few steps forward in his rage, he was now close enough for Wilde to act. The fox closed the distance faster than the reptile thought possible and ripped the flintlock to the side and to the ground. Simultaneously, Wilde drew Drago's right cutlass and held it in both his paws. The lizard hissed at the canine and drew his other cutlass. Without a moment's hesitation, the two pirates collided with a crash of metal. Swing after swing was exchanged. Even with the blade being a bit awkward for Wilde, he held his own without much trouble as Drago's rage grew more and more. The lizard faked a thrust and kicked Wilde to the ground. The fox rolled out of the way as Drago's blade drove into the ground. Popping back up to his feet, Wilde took advantage of the situation and slashed across the back of Drago's knee.

The lizard grunted in pain as he was brought to one knee. He went to swing his blade in retaliation only to experience the worst pain he had ever felt when that claw was severed from his arm by the fox. Screaming in pain, Drago fell to both knees and held the clawless arm to his chest, trying to staunch the bleeding. Metal warm with his own blood was pressed to his throat. Wilde panted and caught his breath before growling at the komodo dragon. "Listen here, Drago. If you ever come after me again, you will experience more pain than you are feeling from your stump at the moment. I never want to see your pitiful scales again, got it. Now get the hell out of my sight! GO!"

Drago at once obliged, running off into the night with his arm still held to his chest. Wilde still held his cutlass. With a deep breath and a large sigh, he took the cutlass and put it next to the door of Honey's home before going back to collect the buckets of water and bringing them into the home for dishes to be finished. Honey only needed one look at him to know something had happened, but this was a normal occurrence. She took the buckets from him and gestured with her head to the kits on the couch. They had all fallen fast asleep huddled together. The canine was glad they hadn't heard, or worse, witnessed the scuffle. One by one and extremely carefully, he carried the kits up to their room. He decided the boys would share a bed so he started with Axel, who was no problem to carry, and then George, who wouldn't let go of him when he tried to put him in bed and he had to carefully pry off. Robyn got her own bed, but she was also not an issue to carry. He then collapsed into his bed, which was the guest bed made for large animals, glad for the day to be over.

Not five minutes later, his door creaked open. Then George's voice emanated into the room. "Um... Mr. Wilde... Can I sleep with you? I had a nightmare."

The fox sat up and lit a candle, gesturing for the wolf to join him. George curled up in his arms and he wrapped his tail around the kit as they began to sink into pleasant sleep... "Mr. Wilde..."

Both Wilde and George sat up at the same time. This time it was Robyn. "Yes, Robyn?"

"Can I sleep with you too? My bed is cold."

"Sure, you little rascal. Jump in."

Robyn had just gotten onto the bed when Axel appeared at the doorway. "You want to sleep in here too, buddy?" Wilde said.

With just a nod, Axel also climbed in. The kits squished together on his right side and he wrapped his tail around all of them before pulling the blanket over. Slowly, each one fell asleep to the soothing sounds of silence and Axel's purrs.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello, everyone! I can't thank you readers enough for giving this story a shot and dealing with my sporadic writing habits and hectic schedule. I greatly hope that you are all enjoying it. Leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy the chapter!**

 **-Eragon**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia, but I do own the story and my OC's.**

* * *

 **ZOOTOPIA: SEAFARER'S TALES-THE CHOSEN SIX**

 **CHAPTER 3**

 **LOCATION: TUSK ISLAND**

 **DATE: AUGUST 9th, 1800**

Captain Wilde stood leaning against the ledge of a guard tower overlooking the ocean as the sun slowly set on the horizon. He would have to leave tonight. Not that he wanted to leave, but the cargo ship would be going through these waters within the next three days, and he _needed_ to get that cargo. It was a necessary evil that he would have to deal with if he would be able to go through with his plan. Glancing to his left, he saw the reason it was so hard for him to leave the island. The three kits all leaned on the ledge with him, eyes transfixed by the beautiful oranges, purples, reds, and yellows that swirled around each other, painting both the sky and sea as one. The canine smiled to himself and went back to looking at the sea as he reminisced on the last four weeks. Four weeks of joy, of struggle, of tears, of friendship, of anger, and of love. He had learned so much over the last four weeks, both about the kits and himself.

George was the oldest of the three, being ten-years-old. He had quickly taken on the older brother role as well as become the leader of the other two kits, and they willingly wanted to follow him. Being a great role-model as how to lead others, Wilde had no problem with this. It actually came as no surprise to Wilde, as he was the most emotionally and physically strong and stable. The thing that did surprise Wilde was that George maintained all these traits through a terrible first ten years of life. The wolf pup had never met his parents, as he and his older brother had been sold into slavery when they were just born. George managed to stay out of trouble for most of his time in slavery because his brother would protect him and take the beating for him. His brother died when George was eight. George had broken one of their owner's prized vases and when the owner, a tiger from Britantler, but living in Tortugal since slavery was more widely accepted there, had been about to whip him, his brother stepped in and clawed the owner. The owner turned on him, tied him up, and whipped him to death. After that, the young pup could never escape the punishments. He had scars on his back from the whippings, and he was just ten. A few months back, pirates attacked his owner's town. The owner was killed and the pirates brought George back here, but George ran and managed to hide in the alleys to avoid those pirates until they left, and he had never seen them since. Yet George kept up a positive attitude and cared for his siblings anyways. The only reason Wilde could think of for him being this way was that George wanted to be like his older brother, a protector.

The next oldest was Robyn, who was nine-years-old. She was stubborn, strong-willed, and suspicious of anyone she didn't know well, but behind all that she was fragile and desperately in need of someone who loved her. Having a family was probably the best thing that could have happened to her and had brought out a joyful and energetic side of her that she had hidden for the first week or so when Wilde had brought her to Honey's, not to mention her newly found love for playing tricks on everyone in the odd family. She had been an only child, and the reason she was so suspicious of animals, Wilde found out, was that her parents were murdered in front of her just one year ago. They had been tradesmammals in Britantler, most likely wealthy ones. A kudu and an antelope had stopped her and her parents along a road in town and when they pulled out guns, her parents told her to run. She had watched as they were both shot and then ran into the nearest building. There were two more shots after she had turned to run. The building she ran into was merely a small clothing shop, but it had kept her safe until morning. When she went back outside the next day, her parents were gone, not even bodies on the street, only two nearly dry puddles of blood. After that, she wandered the city, living abandoned place to abandoned place. Eventually, the kudu and antelope had found her and while she was running from them, she had snuck onto a ship to escape. That ship happened to be a food ship that was traveling to Tusk Island and now here she was.

Then there was Axel, the youngest of the three at seven-years-old. A quiet and introverted kit, he barely talked, but he was the most caring and good-hearted kit Wilde had ever met. He was always the one to comfort anyone in the family when they were having a bad day and help everyone he saw, even strangers, without saying a word. It had taken Axel the longest to tell Wilde about his past, and even then it was fairly disjointed. Axel could never remember a time where his mother was around, and his father had been, in Axel's words, "A very mad animal." Based on what Axel told Wilde, the fox assumed the father had been a terrible drunk. Axel had siblings, but had never been too close with any of them. That may have been because Axel seemed to be the outlet for his father's anger. Even now, Axel had bruises that were still healing from his father's latest outburst. After the last beating, Axel had ran away. He jumped from foster home to foster home, but had never truly fit in anywhere due to being so quiet and withdrawn. One day, he was crying on the side of the street and a friendly old polar bear had stopped and talked to him and brought him to Tusk Island to live with him. After that Axel broke down in tears and could go no further with the story. Since Wilde knew of no polar bears who lived on the island, he could only assume that this mammal had died, which would be why Axel was left to the streets again.

Each an every one of the kits were different in both background and personality and Wilde loved each one of them completely for that. So, he quickly began teaching the kits how to survive on the island without him around to help. From spotting hustles to having a secret hideout to making allies through mutual benefits, he taught them everything he had learned over the years of having lived on Tusk Island. The kits loved his shoreline cave backup hideout. The cave was in a beautiful and secluded part of the island and was well stocked should anything happen to Honey or the house. A list of rules was made for while he was gone. It wasn't very detailed, as there was only so much he could guarantee that they shouldn't do under any circumstances, such as go to the bars. He made sure they knew the merchants they could trust and the ones they couldn't as well as introduced them to his crew and every friend he had on the island. They had been particularly fond of Finnick, his first mate, especially his ears. Finnick had acted tough and emotionless at the time, but Wilde could see through the fennec's façade that he adored the three kits.

Finnick had been Wilde's friend since before he was a pirate, but had only in the last couple years joined him in his adventures. Finnick was the red fox's partner in his plan and that was how Wilde had convinced the fennec to join him at sea. It took him years of nagging the older fox, but Wilde finally got Finnick aboard the _Wildfire_ one day and the old friend decided to stay. The fennec didn't start as his first mate, but as he proved not only to be a great friend, but also extraordinarily talented at pirating, especially when planning how to attack a ship, he worked his way up the ranks into the inner circle and eventually into the role of Wilde's first mate. He was Wilde's greatest confidant, advisor, and ally both on shore and at sea. It warmed the captain's heart to see that his kits all loved Finnick and the fennec's hidden adoration of the three children. Thinking about this, he realized he had to meet up with his first mate very soon to discuss the plan for attacking the cargo ship, and to check and see if the _Wildfire_ 's crew was prepared to leave.

The sun had finally finished setting. The kits looked to Wilde, knowing that it meant it was time to go home, and that it was also time for Wilde to leave the island. The fox turned to the kits, his kits, and crouched down to get on eye level with all of them, "I can't tell you three how much I'm going to miss you. You're the three greatest things to ever happen to me and it's tearing me apart knowing I have to leave you behind. But I have to do this. In order for us to leave this place, I need to go for a while. You three are going to be okay, though. You've got Honey, you've got your brilliant brains, and most importantly, you've got each other. Look out for one another and never leave each others' sides. I love all of you so much."

Tears dripped down the older fox's muzzle as well as were streaming out of all three kits' eyes as they nearly tackled the pirate captain in an enormous hug. They just stood on that guard tower for a few minutes, taking time to remember this feeling. The tears had just finished when Axel said something that got the waterworks going again, "We love you too, Papa."

George and Robyn repeated the statement, tears in all four animal's eyes. After the loving moment, Wilde took them back home. He had Axel riding piggy-back and held Robyn and George's paws the whole way. They reached the house and the fox tucked his three kits in, kissing all three of their heads before slowly closing the door to their room. He talked with Honey for a while before finally giving her a long hug and telling her to take good care of the kits. She promised she would and Wilde finally walked out of the house that had become his home. Walking down the street and toward the docks, he glanced over his shoulder one last time, remembering that now he had something to fight for, something to stay alive for. And with that final glance, he turned and purposefully walked to his ship. He had a job to do.

* * *

 **LOCATION: THE** _STORM_ **, CARGO VESSEL TRAVELING TO MANE**

 **DATE: AUGUST 15th, 1800**

Just over four weeks of travel and the voyage was nearing its end. But, this ship was also nearing its most dangerous stretch of the journey. Lieutenant Hopps was currently with Commodore Bogo, finalizing preparations for the ship's passage through the "Foxblood Waters", which had earned the name through the vast number of sunk ships at the paws of the infamous captain of the _Wildfire_. When Bogo had told her that they would be guarding an extremely special cargo, she had expected some sort of weapons or precious gems. The cargo hold was empty however, and only four animals on the ship knew where this cargo was. Hopps being one of them. What they were guarding was a very small box, hidden in a safe behind a secret door of the cargo hold. Only Bogo knew what was in the chest, but it must have been something of the utmost value for him to regard it in the way he did and to have brought so many of his crew aboard the cargo ship to guard it.

The ship had lost some speed due to the large crew, but Bogo said it would be worth the slight loss of time in case of attack. As they passed through the Foxblood, most of the _Minotaur_ 's crew, including Bogo would go below deck and hide in the cargo hold and the rooms surrounding to ambush anyone who came through. A few would be above deck manning cannons and making it look like the cargo ship had only had a small guard crew on board. Hopps would be one of these animals, but only because she would be in the crow's nest with an ocelot that only went by "Jax." They would be the ears and eyes to warn of incoming ships, specifically an orange-sailed one. With preparations set, all the animals on the _Storm_ could do was wait.

The sun was had just risen over the horizon and sitting exactly in the direction they were heading. Suddenly, the wind slowed to barely a breeze and the current disappeared. Normally, this would worry a crew, but the Foxblood was known for this, which was probably why the fox captain had chosen these waters to be the ones he preyed upon. The crew below quickly changed the sails format so that they caught every little bit of wind they could and continue moving at a decent speed. Hopps and Jax were on high alert in the crow's nest as they entered these waters. Jax periodically scanned in every direction, on lookout for anything out of the ordinary, and Hopps had her eyes shut as her ears swiveled back and forth, listening for any sounds other than their ship. Sound would carry along the water, so all she could hope was that she would be able to hear a mistimed shout or crash from another ship.

As they worked, Jax got more and more jittery and began talking to the doe, "So, Lieutenant, how come your out here on the sea, wouldn't it have been easier to just stay back on the land and raise a family?"

While she knew he didn't mean to offend her, the question hurt with how little biased he was being towards both her being a female and towards her species, "Well, I wasn't content with just having a family and not doing anything meaningful with my life. I wanted adventure and I have always been drawn to the sea. With hard work and determination, I made it here. Why are you here, Jax?"

"I never liked my family and I had a knack for spotting things others couldn't. I met a captain of a ship and he offered me a job as lookout. I took the job to escape my parents more than anything else. Apparently I was good enough at it to make it here with the Commodore."

Eyes still closed for listening, Hopps was curious about what he had said, "Why don't you like your family?"

"Well my father was always up my ass about everything I did and my mother never really showed any love to me. So one day I just ran off and-"

"Jax, shut up.", the rabbit had heard something. Maybe it was nothing, but she had to listen closer.

The ocelot noticed her focusing intently and understood immediately, turning back to his job and scanning the ocean. He didn't see anything yet, but that meant nothing with the ship they were looking for. Hopps ears swiveled before finally facing towards the east, where they were heading, and realized the sound came from directly in front of them when she heard it again. It was a shout. There was no way to make out the words, but it was definitely a voice she was hearing. "Jax, focus on the east, that's where the noise came from."

He immediately listened and did just that, staring towards the sun, paw trying to shield as much sunlight as possible from his eyes. "Of course it's directly in the damn sun."

Suddenly, Jax saw sails crested the horizon. Orange sails. "Shit! Lieutenant, it's the _Wildfire_!"

The rabbit reacted to this news quickly, ringing the alarm bell to let everyone know what was coming. They couldn't change their course now, they were heading straight for the pirate ship. Crewmembers hastily began loading the cannons and preparing guns and swords for battle. They were horrifically outgunned, but they had to do as much damage as possible to the opposing vessel if they were to at least stand a chance. Hopps slid down the ropes, grabbing her flintlock and sword from a fellow crewmember and shouting orders around, getting animals moving into position for battle. "Harrington, get that cannon loaded! Woolsly, bring up swords from below deck! Jax, get the hell out of the nest and get down here! Roland, I want the sails in shape for a fight! Quill, steer us north of those pirates, we will not be able to withstand a head on go with them! Everybody be at the ready for them to try boarding! We need to survive the first pass and then outrun these bastards to the shore, that is the best chance we will have! Crest, I need my telescope!"

A squirrel quickly brought the item to her and she peered through it at the incoming ship. The orange sails had the telltale sign of the fox skull in flames and the vessel itself was black as the darkest night. The _Wildfire_ was a massive and beautiful ship that struck fear into any animal that crossed it other than its crew. Every part of the ship was meticulously cared for. It was a war ship that rarely left ships still floating. And it was nearly upon the _Storm_.

* * *

 **LOCATION: THE** _WILDFIRE_ **, VESSEL IN THE FOXBLOOD WATERS**

 **DATE: AUGUST 15th, 1800**

Something seemed off the Captain Wilde. A cargo ship with no escort and only a small crew on board. It just didn't sit well with the fox. He brought the telescope down from his eye and stored it away as they approached the vessel. His crew was already prepared and knew the plan. Wilde, along with a small group would swing across to the cargo ship as they passed by and the cannoneers would fire chain shots to take out the enemy's masts. With those down, Finnick would be able to steer the ship back around and a larger party could board the cargo ship. All Wilde and his group had to do was buy time, which meant improvising, the thing the fox captain did best. Wilde slowly strolled to the ladder up to the ropes and began climbing up the mast as they continued to approach the smaller ship. He had six animals with him, all around his size since that would be the best for swinging from the ropes across. The fox captain was armed head to paw in every weapon he found could be of use in the impending fight. He had four flintlocks holstered, two on each hip, a blunderbuss strapped to his back, and his trusty cutlass and a short sword also on his back under the blunderbuss.

The ships finally reached each other and the first cannons on both sides went off with thunderous booms. Adrenaline filled the captain as he and the others jumped from their perches, swinging across the gap between ships with rocketing speed. All seven landed gracefully on the deck of the cargo ship and drew their weapons. They were quite surrounded by approximately twenty animals, most of them larger than himself, while about another thirty on the crew were still firing cannon shot after cannon shot. Wilde's animals didn't move after drawing their weapons however, waiting for his move. The fox held two flintlocks loosely at his sides and gave a giant smirk to the crowd around them, all pointing various guns and swords at him and his crew. "Well, is this any way to treat guests? You should all be ashamed of yourselves."

A voice from the wheel of the ship spoke up, a rabbit, "Shut your damn mouth, fox! Tell your crew to put down their weapons! You are all under arrest by the Royal Navy of Britantler!"

Wilde chuckled at the foe, "Oh, how low the Royal Navy has fallen! With cute little rabbits now in command! Hah!"

The cannons continued to thunder all around and splintering cracks from busted wood accompanied the booms. The rabbit jumped down and got right in Wilde's face. "My name is Lieutenant Hopps and you will drop your weapons or you will all be killed right now!"

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen, Carrots."

"Fine.", Hopps had had enough, and drew her flintlock, pressing it to the fox captain's forehead. And yet still he had that infuriating smirk, "Why the hell are you still smiling?!"

The smirk only grew at that, "Because I'm merely stalling right now." He winked, and as if on cue, a chain shot fired straight through the main mast. That mast then fell into the next mast, which fell onto three of their cannons, crushing the crewmammals firing them and knocking the cannons overboard.

With a smirk ear to ear, Wilde just kept on talking, "Well that was quite the _chain_ reaction, don't you think, Carrots?"

The lieutenant was shaken from her frozen stupor by the question and she turned her head, prepared to shoot the fox's brain out. But she was only met with the handle of one of his flintlocks, which quickly brought the world to black for the rabbit as she collapsed onto the deck. The fox turned to the remaining members of the cargo ship's crew. "Now, where were we gentlemammals? Oh, that's right, we were about to kill all of you and take your cargo. Or you can surrender and we'll still take your cargo. It's up to you."

When none of the weapons were lowered, Wilde's smirk changed to a scowl at the fact that he would have to kill these animals, "I see how it's going to be."

He brought the flintlocks up and fired two shots, killing a rhino and hippo in the front of the group. At the shots, his crew charged, firing their own shots and drawing swords and daggers to fight up close. Holstering the two flintlocks, he brought out the blunderbuss and charged, firing it and killing three smaller animals in one go before throwing it back over his shoulder and drawing his swords. Two of his crew members were taking care of the remaining cannoneers, who were still hopelessly firing at his ship, cannon by cannon while he and the other four would fight the remaining animals. He wanted this over with as quickly as possible and furiously slashed his way through animals, leaving nothing but death around him. He had killed six animals when an ocelot charged him, bearing his own cutlass. The ocelot swung downward, which Wilde deflected and slashed back with his other cutlass, surprised to find the ocelot quick enough to block the counter. The ocelot the feinted a slash left and went right, which Wilde barely caught, but he quickly parried the swing before spinning and slashing low and taking the ocelots hind paws out from under him. Before the ocelot could move, the captain drove his short sword into his chest, and pulled it out quickly. He looked around and noticed the rest of his crew had killed or knocked unconscious the cargo ship's crew. Only one of his crew had been lost. He then turned back to the ocelot in his final moments of life, "I must say, you are quite the fighter. Rarely any animal can even attempt to keep up with me. I give you credit for that."

The ocelot only hissed at him, "Go-*cough*- go back to hell you demon."

Wilde smiled sadly as the ocelot passed into death. "I'll meet you there one day, but that day is not today."

Finnick had brought the ship around and more of his crew began boarding the cargo ship in safer ways than how Wilde had first boarded. Wilde called out to his crew in excitement, "Well, my fellow animals, let's see what this ship has for us!"


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello, hello, hello, everybody! I have returned with another chapter just for all of you. I had a lot of free time today and a huge burst of creativity so that is why this chapter is out so soon after the last one. Quick update, I did revise the last three chapters as I was informed by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps that I had some pretty glaring errors in my crew sizes and has been helping me create a genuine story that accurately reflects the timeline so I patched all of those up that I could find as well as made some quick edits such as missing/mixed up words. For the crew size edits, I'll leave a brief summary at the end of the author's note in case you don't want to reread everything to find them yourselves. Thanks so much to Cimar for the help there! Now, leave a follow/favorite/review if you enjoy the chapter!**

 **-Eragon**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Zootopia, only my stories and OCs.**

 **Crew Size of the _Wildfire_ : Changed from 70 animals to 400 or so animals**

 **Captain Wilde's Arsenal: Four flintlocks, a blunderbuss, and a cutlass and short sword, not two cutlasses**

 **Number of Crewmembers Manning the Cannons of the _Storm_ : Changed from 10 animals to 30 animals**

 **Number of Crewmembers on the _Storm_ Hiding Below Deck: You'll find out in this chapter**

* * *

 **ZOOTOPIA: SEAFARER'S TALES-THE CHOSEN SIX**

 **CHAPTER 4**

 **LOCATION: THE** _STORM_ **, VESSEL IN THE FOXBLOOD WATERS**

 **DATE: AUGUST 15th, 1800**

Even in the victory, something was still just off about everything. It all seemed to be going far too easily. The guards and cannons taken care of with just seven animals? That just didn't add up for him. He had sent a two of his animals below deck to investigate twenty minutes ago and they had yet to return. Another sign that something was amiss. He still had over 150 animals on board this ship, but he didn't like losing any of his crew. He called over his top animal on the chain besides Finnick, "Rotfang!"

A large lion quickly ran over to him and stood at attention, "Yes, Captain?"

"Sal and Garl haven't reported in. It's leaving a worse taste in my mouth than your tooth leaves in yours. Take thirty with you and find them. If you find any remaining crewmammals, capture them and bring them back here. If any of them resist, you have permission to slit they're throats. Go."

"I won't let you down, Captain!" Spinning, Rotfang quickly gathered a group and led them below deck. Wilde turned to look at the rabbit lieutenant his crew had tied to what remained of the main mast as he began reloading his flintlocks and blunderbuss. She was a fairly attractive doe, and if he was that kind of pirate, he could most likely amount of gold for her with slave tradesmammals. He had just finished his the flintlocks when he noticed the smallest of smiles pass over her muzzle before it went to mock unconsciousness. The fox stormed up to the rabbit, pushing his flintlock under her chin, "You and I both know you aren't sleeping so open those pretty eyes of yours so we can talk like grown animals."

Amethyst eyes opened and glared into his emerald ones. "What do you want to talk about, oh great Captain Wilde?"

The voice practically dripped sarcasm with every word, but his scowl ceased to waiver, "Well would you care to tell me what is the cargo this ship is carrying?"

"Even if I knew, why would I ever tell you, you pirate filth!" She spat in his muzzle, causing the fox to take a couple steps back.

Wilde sighed as he wiped off his face with a rag from his coat, "Well that was just plain unnecessary. We were just having a nice-"

 _ **BANG! BANG! BANG!**_

Three gunshots in a row were followed by a cacophony of more shots from rifles, flintlocks, and blunderbusses alike as well as yells and screams all from below deck, then finally the clashing of metal that meant melee combat. At the first shot, Wilde had drawn a second flintlock and started walking towards the hatch to below deck. His crew had done likewise, preparing for the worst with each sound of battle below them. Suddenly the noise stopped, then Rotfang cam barreling up the stairs, holding his side as blood poured out of a bullet wound. "Captain Wilde! Captain!"

He was gasping for air when he finally reached the fox, "Captain...they...below deck...they got a...it was all a-"

 _ **BANG!**_

The lion never finished the sentence as a bullet tore through his skull and he fell forward onto the deck, Wilde barely managing to avoid being flattened and turning to where the gunshot had come from to see a massive water buffalo standing at the top of the stairs and holding a the largest flintlock he had ever seen. The buffalo's booming voice carried to every animal on the ship and even some back on the _Wildfire_. "Your days are over Wilde! You are done terrorizing these seas and stealing from Britantler!"

The fox put on his most obnoxious smirk as he replied to the bold statement, "You know what I really hate? When animals kill my crew. It really just gets my blood boiling. Look! I'm so angry my fur is on fire!"

The pirates laughed as the buffalo's face seemed to become even more serious, if that was at all possible. Wilde stopped the uproarious laughter with a raised paw, silencing his crew and continuing. "Now, I won't be surrendering if that's the ploy your playing here. If anything, you should put down your gun and sword and get on your knees before my crew kills you."

The shadow of a smile displayed itself on the bovine, "What I said wasn't an attempt at your surrender. It was what is going to happen."

With that, animals in red jackets stormed up the stairs shouting a war cry, firing all sorts of guns and charging Wilde's crew with cutlasses of their own. There was easily close to 200 animals storming the deck, catching Wilde's drastically outnumbered crew extremely off guard, but they quickly recovered and began firing back. Wilde may have great faith in the abilities of his crew, but there was no way to win this fight without extremely heavy losses. Realizing this as he shot two animals heading towards him, he began yelling out commands as he drew his other two flintlocks. "Everymammal back to the _Wildfire_ and start firing the cannons! This isn't worth the fight!"

His crew immediately began listening, and slowly began withdrawing along their boarding planks back to the pirate ship. The fox captain had another plan, however as he noticed the water buffalo had been attacked by his crew, and had momentarily forgotten about the pirate captain and taken to the fight, leaving the stairs wide open. He took off at a sprint to the stairs, dodging under and between all sizes of animals, both his own and the enemy. Few to none noticed him, and even if they did, they're attention was quickly drawn away from him by the battle they were in the midst of. Diving down the stairs, Wilde took a moment to gather himself before running towards were he knew every cargo ship's hold to be. He reached the hold fairly quickly, the large oak door with a lock an obvious sign of the importance of the room. _You'd think they would change it up once in a while to prevent these kinds of things from happening._

He fired one of the flintlocks, busting the lock and allowing him inside the hold. Opening the door, he entered cautiously to find...nothing? The whole room was empty. Nothing except wooden walls all around him. It didn't make sense. Why would this many guards be on a ship with nothing on it? It could have been just to get him, but his contact would never have betrayed him like that, and he said there was something of value on this ship. So where was it? He looked around the room again, searching for anything out of place. _If I was a shipmaker, what would I have done to create a hiding spot?_

He scanned the room over one more time and an idea came to his mind. He slowly ran his paws along the walls, searching for anything out of place. The room was built large enough so an elephant could stand, but if his idea was correct, he would still be able to find what he was looking for. After a bit, he found a board that stuck out just a tiny bit more than the rest. Cheering in his head, he threw his body weight against it and...nothing happened. He growled slightly as he continued running his paws along the walls, and sure enough there was another board just like the first about ten feet down. He threw his weight into that one, and again nothing. He tried pulling on each board. Nothing. He heard the battle above his head and knew he didn't have too much time. In his frustration, he kicked the wall between the two boards, only for the wall to begin swinging out towards him.

As angry as he was at how simple the secret door was to open, he would worry about that later. There was a cast-iron safe to be cracked. Seeing it was a simple keyhole safe that was built for medium-sized animals, he pulled out his lock-picking set and got to work. It took him only moments before he heard a satisfying click and he pulled the heavy door open, revealing a very small wooden box trimmed in gold. He reached his paw out, about to open the box, when a particularly loud cannon shot followed by the sound of splintering wood on this ship reminded him of the battle above deck and decided he would worry about what was in the box later. He grabbed the box, taking note of how light it was, and stashed it in one of his coat's many pockets and dashed back to the surface. Keeping a flintlock and his cutlass drawn, he entered into the nearly over battle. His crew had just finished retreating and had dropped the boarding planks, along with some of Bogo's crew, into the sea. No one noticed the fox as they were all focused on firing at the _Wildfire_ and its crew as it began sailing back in the way it had come from. Except Hopps, who was still tied to the remnants of the mast, both the pirates and the Navy crew forgetting about the small rabbit.

She had been frantically clawing at the ropes with her blunt claws throughout the entire battle and was about to give up when she saw the fox captain making his escape from below deck. Running out of options, she reached her head down and began gnawing at the rope with her teeth. Finally, the rope gave way and she chased after the pirate as he sprinted across the cargo ship. Right as she was about to catch up to him, he turned midrun and fired at her, causing her to dive out of the way or be on the unfortunate receiving end of the bullet. Using the small lead he had earned himself, he had time to reach the prow of the _Storm_ , and use it's guard rail as leverage to launch himself from the cargo ship onto the deck of the _Wildfire_. He landed with a little roll before bowing to his crew and turning to face the Royal Navy marines, smirk plastered on his face as he brought up the box he had stolen with a flourish.

Hopps watched this all with a rising fury on display. The pirate ship had begun making a larger and larger gap between itself and the cargo vessel. She quickly grabbed a some rope and tied a smaller cannonball to the end of it as she ran towards the prow as well. Leaping off the guard rail in a similar manner to the fox, she threw the cannon ball towards the larger ship and watched it wrap around the guard rail of the _Wildfire_ 's stern as she descended into the sea, still holding onto the rope. She started climbing, determination evident in every action. Reaching the top of the ship, she peeked over the edge toward the deck. Even with the ambush, there were still hundreds of pirates on board surrounding their captain and cheering, and there was no way for her to fight through all of them. There was only one chance of getting back that box. Pulling herself up and over onto the deck of the enemy ship, she yelled out to Wilde. "Captain Wilde, I have come to take back the property of the Britlantan Royal Navy!"

The cheering immediately halted at her voice as all eyes turned to the soaked rabbit standing head held high on their ship. Two pirates, a wolf and another rabbit, drew there cutlasses and attacked her. She drew her cutlass, parrying the first sweeping slash from the rabbit and ducking under the other from the wolf. Before the wolf could recover from the overswing, Hopps' cutlass swung into his back, planting itself firmly in the canine. The rabbit, in an attempt to save his fellow pirate, took another go at Hopps, which she sidestepped, leaving her cutlass in the wolf, and watched as the lupine pirate lodged his blade in the back of his crewmate's neck, killing the wolf. Hopps then detached her cutlass from the wolf and slashed across the shocked rabbit's throat, killing him as well. Then all eyes went to their captain as he stepped forward, classic smirk still on his face. "Well I see you know how to make an entrance! If you haven't noticed, though, Carrots, you're a bit outnumbered. But I am impressed you managed to make it onto my ship. That is one daring feat. Just for that, I'll let you jump off my ship right now and live, or you can stay and die, whatever you would like."

"I'm not here to fight your crew, Wilde. I'm here to win back that box. From one fighter to another, I want a duel with you. I win, I get the box and you take me back to that cargo ship and you let it have safe travel to its destination. You win, nothing changes, you get the box and the Royal Navy is off your tail for now."

He held a paw to his chin, mock pondering the decision. "See, why would I take a risk like that when I already have the box and the victory?"

The bunny pointed her cutlass at the fox, "Because Captain Wilde never turns down a duel."

The pirate clapped his paws together before replying, "Well said, Carrots, well said! In that case, I'd be happy to take you up on your challenge!"

He shrugged off his coat, handing it to another pirate along with the box as he took out his swords to prepare them for the duel. Hopps spoke up again, "And no guns! It wouldn't quite be the even fight if you have all your guns to my one. And pick one of your swords, you don't get both."

Wilde continued to smirk, "It's already not a fair fight since you're dueling me, but if it makes you feel better, I promise not to use any of my guns and I'll only use my trusty cutlass here."

He took out his four flintlocks, blunderbuss, and short sword and put the weapons on a barrel next to the pirate holding his coat and the box. The rabbit did likewise, placing her flintlock next to the pirate's arsenal of firepower. The pirate crew formed a makeshift ring around the two small mammals using themselves as the walls. Wilde had his cutlass drawn and stood relaxed, waiting for the rabbit in case she had any more rules. She only had one more, "First to be incapacitated loses. Be it death, unconsciousness, or surrender, all count as a loss."

"Sounds good to me, Carrots. Can we get this started already?"

Anger shot through the rabbit's eyes at him calling her that name again. Normally, Wilde would have been happy at this, as it made animals make mistakes while fighting him. This time, however, he was worried. That was a raging anger, no, it was a controlled anger. One that could be used to fight with every last breath and do whatever it takes to win. It was an anger that he himself normally showed when fighting, and that made him nervous internally. Outside, though, he looked every bit as calm and relaxed as before the flash of anger the rabbit had shown.

Then she charged him, moving faster than anyone he had dueled before. He only just brought his cutlass up in time to block the first slash, deflecting it wide to his right. He turned to slash back, but Hopps was faster, swinging again before he got the chance and causing him to change the course of his blade midswing to parry the slash down into the deck. This time, Wilde got the chance to swing, going downward at first and forcing her to bring her blade up over her head to block before sweeping across her right side. She deftly rolled under this swing and kicked the back of knee, bringing him down for a moment before taking a go at his exposed neck. Wilde saw it coming and ducked, feeling the breeze of the blade as it passed just over his ears. He used the momentum of his dodge to drop to the deck and kick out the rabbits legs, then back somersaulted to his feet, preparing for another series of sword clashes. He was not disappointed as Hopps hopped back to her feet and charged him again, with crash after crash of metal sounding around them. After seven sets of slashes, parries, and counters, Hopps managed to pull off a feint at Wilde's head, causing him to flinch as she slashed and cut his left arm just below the elbow. Glancing down and seeing blood seeping out of the wound, Wilde knew he needed to end this quickly before the blood loss got to him. He took a couple steps back and reached the makeshift wall of his animals around him. The rabbit followed, unrelenting in swing after swing at the fox. He managed to deflect each one, but inevitably collapsed under one particularly hard swing as he reached the animals of the circle, dropping his cutlass and landing on his stomach, face towards his crew.

Hopps held her blade to the back of his neck. "No one else has to die today. Just surrender and this is all done."

She was surprised to hear Wilde start laughing, "Actually, Carrots, I believe you should be the one surrendering."

In a blur he had turned, pointing a flintlock at her. Hopps was in shock, "You promised no guns!"

The smirk had returned to the fox's muzzle, "Actually, I promised not to use _my_ guns. I said nothing about my crew's. It's what we pirates call a hustle, sweetheart."

Anger again flashed over the rabbit's features, but this time it was a rage, not controlled. She lifted her cutlass to swing down at him. "I'm going to kill you, you mangy pirate bastard!"

 _ **BANG!**_

Wilde had fired the flintlock...and shot the cutlass right out of Hopps' paw. Before she could pick the weapon back up, the fox was up in a flash, dropping the flintlock and holding his own cutlass to her throat. "Now surrender, Hopps. You said it yourself, no one else has to die today. Not right now at least."

With a sigh and defeated look, the rabbit held out her paws for binding. She knew it was over. Wilde called for some rope and tied her paws before leading her to the brig. The cells were surprisingly clean and well taken care of for a pirate ship. He put her in one and closed the door, locking it as she sunk down against the wall with her head in her paws. After he had walked back up to the deck, she began crying. She had failed.

Wilde walked back to his crew, them cheering all the way. He gave them a smile, but inside he felt horrible. It didn't make sense. He had done far worse to animals and never felt any remorse. Hell, he cut off Drago's arm just weeks ago and felt good about it. What made this so different? He looked at his still bleeding arm. Was it the fact that she had actually been his equal in a sword duel? Then her face flashed through his mind. No, it was that look. That look of pure and utter hopelessness that made him feel like filth for the first time since he had started on this path in life.

He grabbed his gear and the box and headed to his cabin, the ship doctor tailing him all along the way. The doctor was a kind old otter that had been with Wilde since he recruited his first crew. The otter's wife had recently left him and he was out of his previous job due to a client dying from an infection he could not stop. So he was overjoyed when Wilde offered him a job as the ship doctor, and the fox believed he had made few better decisions in all his life. The otter, Herman, had saved at least a hundred of his crew from near death, including the captain himself. So when the doctor followed the captain right into the cabin, no one batted an eye. Herman worked fast, creating a tourniquet at the elbow joint to stop most of the bleeding and then cleaning the wound with rum and cloth. Wilde hissed as the alcohol ran over the fresh wound, but kept his arm still as his doctor worked. After cleaning, Herman began stitching the cut. The monotony of doing so brought the otter to start talking to the fox. "So what's bothering you, Captain?"

"What do you mean, Herm?"

Herman gave his captain a knowing look, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're never this quiet and you look like someone just stole all your rum."

Wilde sighed, "I don't know, Herm. For the first time since I began doing this, I feel guilt for that rabbit. And I don't know why."

The doctor nodded as he finished stitching up the cut, "I getcha, Captain. It happens to all of us. There's always that one moment where we feel like the nastiest barnacle in the sea. But we just gotta push through that and do what we do best. Don't worry, Captain. Once you open that box, I bet you'll forget all about that guilt you got going right now."

The pirate captain's face lit up and the remembrance of the box. He fished it out of his coat as Herman packed the last of his medical supplies away into a bag. "Thank you, Herm. You always seem to know just what to do."

With a less-than-humble smile, Herman walked out the door. "Don't mention it, Captain. Glad to help."

The fox turned back to the gold-trimmed box. It had no keyhole, only a latch. Slowly, he flipped the latch. He opened the lid just a crack while holding the box as far from himself as possible just in case of a trap. When nothing happened, he brought the box up close and flipped it all the way open. He was confused at first. What did this mean?

 **A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger...not really, it was kind of fun actually. XD Normally I wouldn't put an author's note at the end of a chapter, but this is kind've important. I will be pretty much completely unable to write this week besides in late nights when I'm not exhausted as I have multiple college scholarships to get done before this weekend so if I don't get another chapter out soon, I apologize in advance as my brain will be creatively and emotionally fried this week. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Whaddaya know, finally another chapter! I hope you all have been able to be patient with me over the past few months. Life has been tough to write around. And please don't hate me after the last chapter. I didn't mean for it...okay yes, I did, but it was fun and I have no regrets about it. Anyways, leave that follow/favorite/review if you enjoy!**

 **-Eragon**

 **P.S. I changed the some of the dates so the time frame makes a bit more sense in this chapter. Originally Wilde left August 9th and attacked the _Storm_ August 10th, now he attacks on August 15th. I hope this doesn't cause too much confusion! **

**Disclaimer: I only own my stories and OC's, Zootopia is still owned by Disney.**

* * *

 **ZOOTOPIA: SEAFARER'S TALES-THE CHOSEN SIX**

 **CHAPTER 5**

 **LOCATION: THE** _WILDFIRE_ **, VESSEL IN THE FOXBLOOD WATERS**

 **DATE: AUGUST 15th, 1800**

A folded piece of paper. Really? That's what he risked his own fur and the lives of his crew for? The fox captain sighed. He had been hoping for gems or gold or something, _anything_ , of real value. Taking the paper out of the box, he opened it and his eyes grew wide as saucers. Wilde hastily brushed the papers and maps on his desk onto the floor before smoothing out the paper on the desk. It was a map of the Animalian colonies. But not only was it just that. Emblazoned on the map in the mountain range just west of Billydelphia was a light purple symbol. Two triangles connected in an hourglass shape, with the points of two more smaller right triangles connected to the upper triangle. It seemed both strangely familiar as well as completely foreign to the fox. While that was interesting in itself, that wasn't what had caused his extreme reaction. Written in black ink at the top of the map was the phrase, " _Find your way, little Wildfire._ "

* * *

Wilde sank into his chair as a memory flooded the fox's mind. He was just six-years-old. He was running through the forest, but not out of fear or necessity, purely because he was enjoying the nature around him. His parents were chasing after him, grins on their faces and laughing as they all weaved back and forth between trees. His mother had fur color to match his own and was wearing a simple brown dress that reached to about halfway between her knees and her feet. The vixen's eyes were a dazzling sky blue and her face was lean and sharp, matching the rest of her body. She was tall for a fox, with a small smile that remained at all times, barring only a few exceptional situations. His father was the average height of a fox, but was definitely a bit thicker in build. With broad shoulders and a smirk that would have let all knew where Captain Wilde had gotten it from, he wore a brown vest and pants along with a light purple cloak. The most distinct feature he had, however, was not the smirk, but his vibrant emerald eyes filled with life and joy.

Young Wilde weaved between the trees, trying to gain some sort of lead so he could hide and attempt to jump out at his parents. He glanced behind him to see he had lost his parents in the thicker trees. Turning to look for a hiding place, he ran square into an animal. Falling gracelessly on his tail, he gave off a small yelp of pain before looking up, expecting it to be one of his parents about to scold him for running out of their sight. What he saw terrified much more. It was a pig in a red coat that the little fox knew too well. The coat only Britantlan soldiers wore. The coat he and his family avoided at all costs. The pig scowled at the fox, then grabbed him by his arms and lifted him up to his feet less than gently. "What are you doing out here, kit?"

Just then, his parents came barreling through a group of bushes, still smiling, until they saw the pig holding their son by the shoulders. The Britantlan soldier recognized his father immediately and drew his rapier. The pig then turned young Wilde around so he was facing his parents, who stood just a few feet from him, and held the blade to the kit's throat. "Don't move, Wilde! You are under arrest by the order of King Lionheart IV! Place any weapons on the ground and surrender immediately!"

"Mommy! Daddy! Help me!" Young Wilde called out to his parents, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks.

The blade was pushed a bit tighter to his throat, "Shut up, kit! Surrender now, Wilde!"

The older fox crouched down to be at eye level with his son, "Nick, do you trust me?"

Young Wilde nodded, tears now streaming down. His father spoke again at the answer, "Then I need you to be calm and stop those rivers in your eyes, okay?"

The kit nodded again, taking a couple deep breaths and slowing the tears as he watched his father. His mother had barely moved, tears running down her cheeks and paws over her muzzle as she watched the whole conflict. The pig was fed up with waiting, "Right now, Wilde, or the kit is dead!"

His father had his smirk back along with that gleam in his eyes. "You got it, buddy."

He drew his cutlass and held it out with both paws before slowly setting it on the ground. Next, he pulled out his two knives and also placed them on the ground slowly. Finally, his flintlock. Slowly, he upholstered it and held it in his paw. He began to bend over, and was about to put it on the ground when he shot straight up again and fired the pistol. Young Wilde would never forget the crack of the gun and the smell of gunpowder that filled the air in that moment before he heard a _**Thunk!**_

The rapier held against his throat dropped down to the ground. Then the hoof holding his shoulder disappeared. He heard something hit the grass behind him, but he never turned around to look. As soon as the blade and hoof were gone, he ran to his parents. He dove into their arms as they held him close, he and his mother both extremely watery-eyed. His father still just smirked as he held both his wife and kit close while they shed enough tears for all of them. When the kit finally felt comforted enough, he looked to his parents, who smiled down back at him, "I thought I was going to die. Daddy, you saved me."

That got the tod to give off a barking laugh, "Of course I did! You think I would let anything happen to you, Nick?"

His mother quickly added to his father's words, "As long as we're around, you will always be safe. We will never let anyone hurt you ever. Do you know why?"

The kit shook his head "no." The tod and vixen looked at each other before speaking again to their child. This time, his mother started, "Because you are our son. You are the one who will live on when we are long gone and the one we are fighting to create a better life for."

His father took over placing a paw on his shoulder, "And most importantly, you are the one who will carry our torch when we move on to the heavens. You are our little Wildfire, Nick."

* * *

The memory faded away as quickly as it began as Wilde dropped his head into his paws, eyes red as he rubbed at them fiercely. He looked back at the map. Part of him wanted to revere it like a gift from the gods and the other part of him wanted to burn it to oblivion. It was all too painful to bear. He looked back at the map, focusing on the symbol in order to ignore the words at the top of the map. There was something at the very edge of his mind about the symbol. He knew it from somewhere, he just didn't know where. Something about the triangles and the color. That light purple. _The same purple as dad's cloak._

Growling in frustration at the memories again trying to invade his thoughts, he punched down on his desk. He needed a distraction from all this. Something to keep his mind off his parents. Where had the map come from? Ah, that's it. He would talk to that rabbit. She had been guarding the box, so she must know where it was from. And if he could find out where it was from, he could get his contacts to find out more information for him. Yes, that would work. That would keep him distracted for at least a little while until he could get his memories and emotions in check. He grabbed his coat, which Herm had kindly left by the door to his cabin on a hook, and threw it on before marching down to the brig, map in his pocket.

* * *

She had cried at first. Cried because of her failure. Cried because of being captured. Cried because she was stuck on this stupid pirate ship. Cried at her entire situation. Then she had thought about it for a little bit, and realized she had a chance to do something here that no Britantlan marine had ever done. She was alive on the _Wildfire_. Which means she had a chance to learn about the ship, the crew, and, most importantly, the captain that had evaded capture for so long. The information she could gather would be priceless to her superiors. After thinking about that for a time, she thought back to everything she had seen and learned so far. Eventually getting to the duel with Captain Wilde. From his first demeaning words to her, to when he finally defeated her with that last gunshot. She knew his fighting style, at least with his cutlass, as well as some of his ploys. As much as she hated him, she had to respect him. He was always confident, wearing that infuriating smirk even when it seemed he had no hope. He always had a plan, normally pretty darn good ones at that. His agility was astounding as well. The way he had ducked and dodged his way through the battle on the _Storm_ was unbelievable, and then his jump from one ship to another was amazing. No animal she had ever met was so quick and clever with his technique. It took every trick and bit of energy she had to pull off nearly defeating him.

But she hadn't won. Because of that tricky play on words...wait. She shot up from the ground. Pacing in thought and talking to herself, "He may have said he wouldn't use his guns, and he didn't, but he also said he would 'only use his trusty cutlass.' That mangy fox _did_ lie!"

Then she sunk back down, anger dissipating. She had been the dumb bunny to fall for it. And now she was stuck here because of it. Fine then. She just had to be smarter from now on, and make sure to be wary whenever around that cunning, slimy, sneaky, no-good son of a-

The wooden door leading to the brig creaked open, and she heard quiet footpaws begin to make their way down the stairs and towards the cells. The rhino guarding her cell quickly shot up at attention as the animal turned the corner on the stairs and revealed themselves to be the fox captain himself. The size of the stairs in comparison to the fox would have been comical had he looked the same as she had last seen him. However, his smirk was gone, replaced by an expression of determination and seriousness. He waved his paw to the rhino, "Cullen, you may excuse yourself for a quick break. I would like to have a few words with our guest."

Cullen nodded and hurried his way up the stairs. As soon as the large mammal was gone, the captain opened his mouth to speak, but Hopps beat him to it, venomously spatting at him as she stood up, anger returning in a flash, "You did lie, you bastard. You said you would only use your cutlass, but you didn't. You used those guns, all because you knew you couldn't beat me fairly. You had to cheat, but I shouldn't be surprised since pirates like you don't know anything about having honor."

"Lieutenant Hopps, while I would love to have a thrilling discussion about the honor of pirates, there is something of greater importance I need to speak to you about."

The rabbit was taken aback by the use of her full title. Something was off here. "Well what do you need, _Captain_?"

"Where did you get the map?"

Now she was really confused. "The map?"

A spark of frustration briefly passed through the fox's eyes before going back to normal. "Yes, the map."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do! You were guarding it on Bogo's ship."

She finally realized what he was talking about. "Oh, so that's what was in the box, a map. Interesting."

The fox captain gripped the bars of the cell tightly. "Don't play stupid with me, you know exactly what I'm talking about!"

"I honestly haven't got a clue. Only the Commodore knew what was in that box. He merely told us it was something that needed utmost protecting."

Wilde slammed his paws into the cell bars and growled in frustration, causing Hopps to jump a bit. He unlocked the cell and opened it, stepping inside and pulling the map out of his pocket. He unfolded it and showed her the detailed, paw-drawn map of Animalia, including the purple symbol and writing. "You have no idea where this map came from?"

She briefly looked it over before looking the fox in the eye and giving her answer, "I've never seen this map, Wilde."

He sighed and turned around slowly, folding the map and placing it back in his pocket as he did so. "I was afraid that was the answer you would give me."

In a flash he held a knife to her throat. "This is the last time I'll ask. Where is the map from?"

Hopps' breathing started to become panicked at the blade being pushed to her throat. "I...don't...know."

His eyes showed sadness for a fleeting moment before they closed, only to reopen with fiery determination, "Then I have no further use for you on my ship."

He sheathed the dagger and pulled her up by her bound wrists before pushing her out the cell and starting up the giant stairs one jump at a time. The finally made it out onto the deck and the captain yelled to his crew, "Prepare the plank!"

A series of cheers went up as a hippo began turning a crank near an opening in the railings and a board large enough to hold an elephant began to make its way out over the open sea. Wilde roughly shoved Hopps out onto the plank, but the rabbit lost her footing at the change from the deck to the plank, falling flat on her face to quite the amusement of Wilde's crew. She scrambled back to her feet, turning to face the fox captain. His eyes were emotionless as he held out an open paw to his right side. A long spear was placed into it, and he brought the sharp spear tip down and held it directly in front of Hopps' throat. He slowly began to walk forward, forcing Hopps to take steps back towards the edge of the plank or face a spear blade to the throat.

Hopps yelled to Wilde as he continued forward, stepping down onto the plank himself. "Wilde, you don't have to do this!"

"You're right. I don't have to do this. But I have done far worse and you are only a useless mouth to feed. Better to pull out the thorn now than wait until I get an infection." He still held that emotionless stare the entire time.

She stopped backing up and stared right back at Wilde. Desperation began to creep into the rabbit's voice as she continued to argue for her life, "I have a family to go back home to! Parents and siblings and nieces and nephews!"

That froze Wilde for a moment. A slight break in the emotionless stare. But whatever emotion briefly broke his demeanor quickly vanished, leaving Wilde smirking and the emotions again wiped from his face. "Well it seems to me that they've got enough rabbits around. They won't be missing just one."

The spear darted outward just enough to barely pierce her throat, causing a slight trickle of blood as the crew erupted into laughter. Hopps stumbled backwards a ways, glancing between the edge of the plank and Wilde as she frantically tried to think of a way to save her fur. Then she had it. It was so obvious she couldn't believe she hadn't already thought of it. "You're going to need me Wilde!"

This brought a barking laugh out of the fox as he kept stepping forward. "I will never need the help of a little bunny. Especially not you."

The spear shot out again, but this time Hopps quickly stepped back and out of the way of the blade... only to find herself at the edge of the plank.

She looked down into the ocean below her. She would be lucky just to survive the fall, not to mention having to either swim to land or happen to get rescued. No, she had one more shot at saving her fur, and she needed it to count. "Are you so sure of that, Wilde? You don't need an animal who happens to have memorized the patrol routes, both on land and sea, of the Britlantan military in Animalia? You don't need an animal who can help you navigate that map to get to that weird symbol? So how about a deal, Wilde. I'll help you get wherever you need to go without being captured, or even bothered, by soldiers, but after that you let me go free back home to my family."

The tip of the spear was lifted, then the spear itself thrown to an otter on deck. Wilde made a signal with his paws to the hippo, who began cranking the plank back towards the deck. Eventually Wilde and Hopps both stepped on deck, only an arm's length apart. Wilde was glaring daggers at the rabbit in front of him. "Fine, Carrots, I'll leave the thorn in for a little while."

He drew his dagger and pressed it to her throat while he held her over the edge of the ship with the other paw. One move on either paw would mean her death. He growled his next words to her. "If I even think you are doing something that endangers me or my crew in any way, I will yank out that thorn on the spot. Do we understand each other?"

The rabbit nodded the best she could and Wilde let her go back on deck. He motioned with his paw to two of his crew, the rhino, who she now knew was named Cullen, and a sleazy looking koala. They immediately did as their captain wished and brought her back to her cell in the brig, and the captain slowly walked to his cabin. As soon as he was gone, Finnick began yelling orders to the crew, getting everyone back into position for sailing and setting a course for somewhere called Tusk Island.

* * *

 **LOCATION: THE** _WILDFIRE_ **, VESSEL APPROACHING THE DOCKS OF TUSK ISLAND**

 **DATE: AUGUST 18th, 1800**

She hadn't been let out of her cell since she almost walked the plank. Not that she was upset about that. She wanted to avoid Wilde after that whole incident. She was fed twice a day and had a guard all around the clock. Most the time it was Cullen. He was a friendly rhino who actually went out of his way to talk to her and create conversations. Wilde had actually saved him when he was stranded at sea. His ship had been under attack and was sinking, so he and a few other crewmammals jumped aboard a rowboat and escaped. They were at sea for over a week. He had been the only one to survive when Wilde saw the boat and brought Cullen aboard. The rhino had been fiercely loyal to him ever since and spoke very highly of him. Hopps didn't say much when the rhino tried to talk to her, but she at least acknowledged his presence and gave her gratitude for him trying to make her poor situation a bit better. The other guard she had wasn't nearly as amiable.

This was the koala that had been with Cullen to bring her back to the brig after the incident. She had come to know his name was Liam, and it was a name she would hate to hear even mentioned while she was captured. Whenever he came down to switch with Cullen, she didn't have to see him for she could smell his stench coming down the stairs. He reeked of booze along with sweat and grease. She doubted that he had ever bathed in his life. Liam would sway a bit as he walked and his voice slurred just barely enough for an observant animal to know he was nearly always drunk. As soon as Cullen would be up the stairs and resting he would begin cussing and yelling at Hopps for being part of the Royal Navy. After the first day of it she had decided to just ignore him and let him drunkenly rant at her. After the first three days of him screaming and yelling it seemed to finally work, as he stayed silent after Cullen left.

She was facing away from Liam, attempting to sleep on the wooden floor. She had at least been given some cloth to lay her head on so it wasn't impossible to get some shut eye. Then she heard a clatter of keys and the cell door opened. She turned around and shot to her feet, but then was slammed back into the hull of the ship by the paw of Liam. He may have been revolting, but he was strong after years of working on a ship. His breath, reeking of booze, came out in barely above a whisper as he held a long knife to the side of her face. "The captain is blind! He doesn't see that you are a curse and a plague on this ship. Well I'll handle this before it gets out of paw."

The knife moved down to her throat, then was stabbed into the wood of the hull between Hopps' ears. The koala looked Hopps up and down before chuckling maniacally. "Well, maybe there is a use for you before I kill you. I could have myself a little bit of fun."

One of his paws slowly traveled down her left side, but as he did this Hopps brought up her leg into a powerful kick between Liam's legs. This caused him to stumble backwards and keel over in pain. Then the rabbit used the wall to propel herself and bring up both legs in a strong kick to the koala's face, knocking him into the cell bars. She grabbed the knife and prepared to defend herself when the koala finally recovered and snarled at her, drawing a flintlock from his belt. But as he drew his gun there was a small cough as Wilde entered the cell between the two mammals. He looked at Liam with absolute disgust and disappointment. "You were about to break two of our codes, Liam. Do you understand that?"

"Captain, this wretch shouldn't even be alive. You should have killed her in combat or made her walk the plank, not be waiting for her to get us all hung!"

"And I can respect the breaking of one code for that reason, even if you would still be punished for it. But you also should know that I do need her to get through Animalia to what will hopefully make us all rich and finally fund the camp."

Liam looked down, realizing what his captain said was true. He then took a knee, head still bowed. "I'm sorry, Captain. I should have left the bunny alone."

He smirked and grabbed Liam's paw, bringing him to his feet. "Apology accepted! Now, we are home, so lets go and share a couple drinks at a good bar!"

He wrapped an arm around the koala and motioned for Hopps to follow as they climbed their way up the stairs. The reached the upper deck surrounded by Wilde's crew. They sounded excited as they approached a foreboding island surrounded by fog. Wilde looked back at Hopps and winked before announcing to the crew. "Oh, I forgot something, Liam! Under no circumstances do I allow the breaking, or attempt of breaking, of the second code from my crew!"

At that he shoved Liam out towards center deck and drew a flintlock. As soon as Liam turned to face him, fear in his eyes, Wilde shot the flintlock. The sudden sound caused the whole crew to look and see Liam with a bullet in his chest, blood seeping into his clothes as he fell backwards, eyes already glazing over. Wilde, still smirking, then continued speaking to the whole crew. "You all know our codes! We do not break these codes except under extreme circumstances! And by no means do we ever, and I do mean ever, break the second code! Let Liam be a lesson for this! Am I understood, my good animals?"

Every crew member either saluted or kneeled to Wilde at this, shouting "Yes, Sir!" or "Yes, Captain!" Wilde nodded in approval as the ship docked onto the island. The crew quickly exited the ship and began making their way into the pirate town. The fox turned to face the rabbit, who was still standing just behind him. "You're welcome. Now, since I don't want you to have to worry about something like that happening while I'm away, you'll be staying with me for the next couple days while we prepare for the long trip that is to Animalia. Don't try to escape because I will know and I will kill you without hesitation, got it?"

Hopps nodded, which was enough for Wilde. "Good. Now come come. I have some animals to introduce you to."

And with smirk firmly set onto the fox's face and confusion on the rabbit's, they jumped onto the dock and began making their way to the place Captain Wilde called home.


End file.
